Every parent knows the simple desire for just a few minutes of peace. A device with a screen can hold a child’s attention, sometimes for hours at a time. Problem solved!
What’s bad about popping your child into the stroller, backseat or shopping cart and handing them a tablet to keep them entertained? The harm might be more than you bargained for.
“I always tell families the habits of today are the habits of tomorrow,” says pediatrician Tisa Johnson-Hooper, M.D., Medical Director at the Henry Ford Health Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities (CADD). “A child being able to sit and entertain themselves with their environment sometimes, to me, is natural. But it does take practice in the society that we live in.”
Knowing your child’s developmental level and having realistic expectations is important. If you go out for dinner as a family, for example, your toddler can’t sit for more than 15 minutes or so without some engaging distractions. Books and coloring books are developmentally appropriate, and may just be a better choice than a tablet or phone.
Is there anything positive about screen use for kids with autism?
Screens can help children with autism regulate emotionally, admits Brooke Ringler, speech-language pathologist in the Division of Speech-Language Sciences and Disorders at Henry Ford Health.
“For times in which it really is necessary, such as if they’re spending 30 minutes and not calming down, I think having (a screen) is a really good form of self-regulation as a last resort,” Ringler says.
But, she warns, electronic devices should not be the only tool a parent has — and all content a child consumes should be high quality. Sesame Street, for example, can promote language skills and joint attention, while other choices don’t have the same positive effect.
Children who are “Gestalt language processors” absorb language by chunks or phrases and may use consumed content for later scripting, she explains.
“They’re going to pick up on the language quicker because it’s more enjoyable to them, but you have to play detective a lot more because the phrase meaning won’t be as cut and dry.” A child can build a foundation of phrases — but may ultimately use them in irrelevant situations. Ask your child’s speech therapist for content suggestions if you’re incorporating a screen in their language learning.
Screens can’t replace learning through human interaction
Watching a video again and again may be comforting for a child, but it can’t replace the interaction and responsiveness they’d experience in a real conversation. “When you talk to someone else, it isn’t linear. (The conversation) can go in a variety of directions,” Ringler says.
“When you’re on the floor playing with your child, it’s an opportunity to connect, give strong language models, and be silly. Screen time unfortunately does not replicate that reciprocity and learning,” she says.
Be aware that children who are exposed to screens over human interactions hear less language and fewer words. Language is harder to learn without back-and-forth practice — even babies learn by babbling and waiting for a parent’s response.
This applies to all children, but particularly to children with autism, says Dr. Johnson-Hooper. “When you look at those core symptoms of autism, quite honestly, screen (use) actually reinforces those core symptoms,” she says, adding that limited social and play skills, repetitive behaviors, rigidity and difficulty with transitions are all reinforced by excessive screen time.
Watch out, too, for content that can overstimulate. Bright colors and loud noises can disrupt sleep patterns and negatively affect social interactions and sensory experiences, Ringler says. TV programs you watched as a child aired and then ended. On a personal device, your child can binge.
Maximize benefit for your young learner by supervising their screen use, setting a time limit and selecting high quality content that doesn’t overstimulate.
Then, when the show is over, talk about it, suggests Dr. Johnson-Hooper. In an age-appropriate way, talk to your child about what happened in the show.
What to do when you put the screens away
If a screen calms and regulates your child, it may feel scary to disrupt that, even for just part of the day. Start by creating screen-free zones or times — like during meals or just before bed — so your child can learn to expect that structure.
“Kids typically want structure and when they start learning what is a screen-free zone, they’re happy to play with toys. Once they learn that expectation, they thrive off of that,” says Ringler, referring to the screen-free zone of her speech therapy space.
Observe what your child gravitates to during speech or ABA therapy to get ideas for toys and games you can introduce to your child. Recall the toys you liked most when you were a child and what you’re naturally drawn to today. This might include blocks, books, bubbles, art materials, pretend food, Lego or a doll house.
Create a literacy-rich environment instead
Let go of any preconceived ideas about what reading is supposed to look like, says Dr. Johnson-Hooper, adding that parents can read to infants and toddlers, even if they aren’t sitting with rapt attention.
Set the stage for reading wherever you can. Access to books — out in the open rather than on a bookshelf — will help your child transition from their screen to a book. Know that reading will change as your child grows.
“On my first visit (with parents), I talk about how they should be reading to their newborn and this is what it looks like,” says Dr. Johnson-Hooper. “And reading looks different to a 6-month-old, and a 9-month-old is just going to put the book in their mouth. And that’s OK. That’s reading.”
Helping your child with autism thrive
Think about the skills you want your child to learn. Will screen time help get them to that goal? It’s a tough question to ask when phones and tablets are so accessible — and so attractive to kids and parents alike.
For a child with autism, screen use can be effective in reinforcing weaknesses rather than building strengths, Dr. Johnson-Hooper says.
If you work with your nonverbal child’s providers to determine that you want them to learn to communicate, for example, “sitting in front of the TV is not going to get them there. But reading or singing nursery rhymes or going for a walk and naming everything you see, having a conversation as you dress them,” are effective at developing communication, she says.
This is a starting point. Learn what the American Academy of Pediatrics says about screen time for children and parents. If you want more ideas about how to move away from screens and toward engaging play, talk with your child’s primary care provider, ABA and speech therapy team.
Expertise from Henry Ford Health’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Learn more at henryford.com/services/autism.
